6/21/2008

RUSSIA fears climate catastrophe in Arctic - Global warming could bring “terrible destruction” in the Russian North, the country’s Ministry of Emergency Situations admits. He says global warming could bring “catastrophic destruction” in the northern parts of country by 2030. The melting of the permafrost could pose a major threat against northern airports, as well as underground reservoirs of oil and gas. A warming of only one-to-two degrees will reduce the firmness of the permafrost by as much as 50 percent. He adds that already today, the thickness of the permafrost is reduced by about four centimetres per year and that the permafrost zone over the next 20 years is expected to move 80 km north. The climate change will increase the chances of flooding and that major amounts of methane might be released from the ground